Visit with Grandma Freston and Aunt Lori

We had such a great visit! The weather was terrible most of the time but we were still able to do several things. The first day we spent the afternoon at the beach. It was a bit chilly and overcast but not raining. There were so many shells, we have never seen so many on this beach. The kids and Aunt Lori gathered up a big bag full. Becca was thrilled to find a whelk shell that was in perfect condition. Wow what a find! We just love the beach!

Next day was Saturday and it rained the entire day, just a steady downpour. Luckily both Grandma and Lori brought projects for the kids. We had a full day of crafts and sewing. Grandma had all kinds of beads and braiding crafts and Lori taught the girls to sew. They each made a ball, a bag, and Susie and Becca made PJ bottoms and Katie will make a doll later, we ran out of time! They had the greatest time. The look of pride on their faces seeing what they had made was awesome. Lori also made Xander a cape so he could be S. X. —Super Xander!!! (He had been pretending to be Superman at the beach) Susie made Xander’s puppy a cape to match that had S.P. on it for Super Puppy! It was very cute. It was a great day listening to conference and just hanging out together.

Sunday the weather was still not so great but during the 2 hour break between conferences we went to Flanners Beach, which is a picnic area along the Neuse River. The river is so huge and with waves coming in it is really like you are at the ocean even though the river doesn’t reach the ocean for another 20 miles. The water is not something you would want to swim in, but the beach was nice to walk along.

Monday the girls were back to school after their 3 week break. Mom, Lori, Xander and I went for an outing. We wanted to go see Cape Lookout Lighthouse. We had to drive to Harker’s Island to catch a ferry to get to it. When we got there they told us the ferries were closed for the day because of the weather. They use small passenger ferries there and the wind was too strong. We were very disappointed… We could see the Lighthouse, but it was far away. So we drove back to Beaufort and had lunch at a little grill next to the harbor. We were just finishing up when we noticed some action out on the water. There were 3 dolphins swimming around. It was so great! I just love dolphins!

After lunch we went to the Maritime Museum. It is full of information about Black Beard the Pirate. Apparently this is where he scuttled his own ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge. He also had a home somewhere in Beaufort as well. I guess he used that when he wasn’t off pirateing!!! He was captured and killed in Ocracoke Inlet, which isn’t too far from us. It was fun seeing all the stuff there. There was a big statue of Black Beard. Xander was too scared to go near it so Puppy sat on Black Beards lap. Later Xander told everyone how brave Puppy was sitting on a Pirates lap!

Another stop we made was to Fort Macon. It is a civil war fort, actually it was used in WWII as well if I remember right. There was so much information there not all of it stuck in my brain. Jason and I and the kids have been there before but it was after hours so all the displays were closed up and we could only wander on the outside of the fort. This time it was open and we saw all of it. It was sobering to think of battles going on, the life of a soldier at that time and just how hard life was then. Something Jason and I have found since living here is that people here refer to the civil war as “the war between the states” or even “the war of northern agression.” They don’t recognize it as the American civil war. I guess there are still some small towns way out that are still segregated. It seems so strange to me to have that kind of prejudice still going on.

The last thing we did was Jason picked up the girls and met us and the Aquarium. The kids never tire of the Aquarium. We sure were tired by the end of the day though. We had done a lot!

The next day was Tuesday and we just hung out at the house until it was time to take Mom and Lori back to the airport. We were all sad to say good-bye but very grateful we had had the chance for such a great visit! Thanks MOM!!!

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